Have you ever sold a property using one of the main national property auctions?

youth_leader

Hello Deleted_User, I had to pay £795 to be listed on the website/entered into the glossy brochure, £1300 to my solicitor for the legal pack, and 2% commission on a sale of £275K plus VAT.  It was eyewatering but I did have 33 viewers, and one viewer commissioned a survey.

[Deleted User]

youth_leader said:

Hello Deleted_User, I had to pay £795 to be listed on the website/entered into the glossy brochure, £1300 to my solicitor for the legal pack, and 2% commission on a sale of £275K plus VAT.  It was eyewatering but I did have 33 viewers, and one viewer commissioned a survey.

So yes that's a bit of an eyewatering amount as you say although it hopefully got you the sale you wanted at the price you wanted. My legal cost will be similar to your £1,300 when the VAT is added and I had to pay a similar amount in terms of getting it listed as well. Interesting that they didn't tell you the house was being surveyed though? I wonder if these is in the contract with the auctioneers that they don't need to ask permission perhaps although it still would have been good practice.

youth_leader

I didn't get the price I wanted Deleted_User.   My reserve was a lot higher but I decided to settle as the house was listed, I didn't have the money for the renovation, and it's a criminal offence to allow a listed building to deteriorate.  It was at the start of the first lockdown and two days before I received a phone call to say the auction would be on line, so the traditional 'competition' in the room element was removed  

I was cross not to be told the surveyor was coming, it was the same one that had surveyed for my buyer when I was with the estate agent.  During that survey he'd opened the loft hatch above my bed, covering it with loft debris.  This time he managed to pull the curtain rail down.

[Deleted User]

youth_leader said:

I didn't get the price I wanted Deleted_User.  My reserve was a lot higher but I decided to settle as the house was listed, I didn't have the money for the renovation, and it's a criminal offence to allow a listed building to deteriorate.  

So did you take an offer before the actual auction or was this after the auction and due to it not selling do you mind me asking? I know about the pitfalls of owning a listed building and the powers that exist that can be brought into effect.

youth_leader said:

It was at the start of the first lockdown and two days before I received a phone call to say the auction would be on line, so the traditional 'competition' in the room element was removed  

Yes I think the "in the room competition" is a very important feature of the auction in terms of selling. I ended up with charges roughly similar to yours except I put that the buyer pays all of the charges in the "special auction terms" to include legal fees, auction fees, etc except for the initial listing fee which I've already paid.

youth_leader

Hello Deleted_User, my guide price was £315K, the 'secret' reserve was £340K. Originally I'd been advised to go for a secret reserve of £390K but I felt it was too high and reduced it.  Apparently if you wanted to increase the reserve it was chargeable.   I was desperate to sell so didn't include the buyer pays fees to attract more bidders.

On the day of the auction I hadn't realised as it was now online it was actually up for bidding at 9 am, when I logged in it was all over. I  had just had a brief phone call saying it would not be live, as I was number 74 assumed it would be around lunch time.  

I had two bids - one for £200K from someone that hadn't viewed, and one for £235K from someone that had viewed a few days before, I knew he hadn't had a survey.  So disappointing.  I rang through to the auction house and they said they would be approaching all the viewers the next day and would hope to 'bring it over the line'.  The next day they rang and said the original on line bidder had increased his offer to £240K, and a new bidder had offered £275K.  I accepted this new high bid, but he wouldn't sign that day as he had to 'pass it through to his underwriters' - and he also wanted eight weeks to complete. I was annoyed, but in the end grateful for the extra time as it took me six weeks to move myself out, the local removal companies weren't working as they said they weren't 'essential workers'.  

I was very sad to sell the house as my husband died on the front lawn, I do have an emotional attachment to it still.

martindow

There was a recent thread regarding auctions.  People there were talking about difficult to sell houses that had remained unsold on estate agents' books.  When they were auctioned they sold for more than the original selling price.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333971/buying-a-house-at-auction/p1

Skiddaw1

theartfullodger said:

IamWood said:

theartfullodger said:

In answer to the subject, No.


Bought one though.  A bargain, bought 2000, still own it........

To satisfy my curiosity, what's the market value now?

Bought £18.5k, now probably £105k(?).  2 bed terrace + garden & garage.
Went to auction, never having seen inside it (drove past), bought for cash.

Rented out almost all the time since 2000, no mortgage on it, views of sea lochs & mountains, .. - taken from front room March 2014

- 25 mtrs from open hillside...

See Proudhon - 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_is_theft!

@theartfullodger that's truly wonderful.... reminds me of a friend's croft on the shore of Little Loch Broom. Whereabouts is it and what is the mountain in the pic?

theartfullodger

Taken from Fort William, Loch Linnhe, Gulvain (Munro, can't recall the Gaelic..). On a scheme.

Might be flogging it later this year.

NameUnavailable

You might not be able to negotiate on the fee but you can include a clause in the terms of sale that the buyer has to pay some or all of your fees. I would suggest stating a % of the hammer price.